March 19, 2025 8:51 AM : Ortiz allowed four runs on two hits and six walks while striking out two over four innings in Tuesday's spring start against the Rangers.
Analysis: It was another rocky outing for Ortiz, who made his fifth Cactus League start. The free passes continued a trend that has seen him walk 11 batters over his last 10.1 spring innings and 12 overall in 14.2 innings. Unsurprisingly, the walks have wreaked havoc on his spring ERA (11.66). Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told Tim Stebbins of MLB.com that the right-hander's stuff plays when he's in the zone, but Ortiz needs to work on being more consistent with his delivery. "Because when we see him in the zone, we see what he can do. And that's to be an elite pitcher," Vogt said. Ortiz is short on experience in the majors, having appeared in 59 games (34 starts) since his debut in 2022. He'll continue to work with pitching coach Carl Willis to bring out the 2024 version of Ortiz, who posted a 3.32 ERA in 37 games (15 starts) for Pittsburgh.